Since these all require one to select a payable plan to activate the SIM, are these essentially a rip off for those who can't decide at the shops on what plan to use?
$2 Sim Cards - a Rip off
seug123 on 15/12/2022 - 01:27
Last edited 15/12/2022 - 10:23 by 1 other user
Last edited 15/12/2022 - 10:23 by 1 other user
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I know, but you can't activate them without a plan right?
Were you expecting a free service or something?
Maybe for it to come off the plan cost.
The hotel we were staying at in Perth in October had a dozen or so $2 Telstra SIM cards, free for the taking. Some of them had almost reached their activation expiry date, so I grabbed one and activated it, just as an experiment. There was an option to select a plan later, and doing so gave the warning that it'd only be able to receive calls and text messages for 7 days without an active recharge. However, two and a bit months later, and it can still receive. YMMV.
are these essentially a rip off for those who can't decide at the shops on what plan to use?
afaik, yes that's correct.
Some of us make a profit with sims. For some people it's even their full-time job @WatchNerd
Say lose your phone. You can get your old phone, buy a replacement sim card for $2, then activate the sim to your existing number. Better than waiting a week for delivery.
What should they cost? retail/telcos want to make profit.
I'd go as far as saying that the telcos supply them free to retailers who are displaying them along side the other more profitiable kits and I'd bet my bottom dollar that the likes of Coles and Woolies are not paying a cent for them.
Correct. Or they cost 5 to 10c.
Mind you, heaps get stollen.
There wouldn't be much point in stealing a $2 SIM that needs a paid plan to activate, so either people are going to the effort of pinching them to throw in the bin, or they're activating them on a plan. The latter is a win for the telcos!
in theory, the $2 sim cost is to deter morons from activating sims willy nilly.
i have activated a few sims not long ago for familia and yes, upon registering the sim, picking a number etc you have to chose a plan.
i remember the good ol days of blue dog and they sent you a sim and you got charged for the time used, data back them was still in its infancy but there was no monthly service fees.
I can't work out what the point of this thread is.
You need a SIM and a plan from the same telco to get access to the phone network.
If they give the SIMs away some people would just take them and not use them. So they charge a nominal amount. Little enough that people who think they might have a use for it will pay it. Just enough that people who don't won't.
People having ready access to one, like them being on sale at every supermarket and given away at hostels, means its then easier to get them to make an impulse purchase of plan, because they don't have to wait for a SIM to arrive in the mail. And its cheaper to sell them in a supermarket than to pay the postage cost.
I can't see how this is a "ripoff". SIMs aren't just a piece of plastic with stuff printed on them, they have a chip in them. They don't just cost cents to make and package and distribute.
How am I supposed to switch providers now without using a provider for the shortest amount of time possible?
A lot of hotels/hostels have the $2 sims for free in amongst the tourist flyers.